Woman celebrates 100th birthday - at work

September 26, 2009

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) - Astrid Thoenig got dressed, went to work and sat at her desk smiling Thursday as she slid her finger gently under the envelope flap of yet another identical birthday card. They don't make that many that say ''Happy 100th.''

Thoenig was interrupted by a steady stream of deliverymen bringing bouquets, chocolate-dipped strawberries and stacks of cards to the Thornton Insurance Co. in Parsippany where she's been answering phones, keeping financial records, handling payroll and typing up documents for more than 30 years.

''It's another day - it's hard to explain,'' Thoenig said of turning 100. ''I don't feel old, and I don't think old.''

Born Sept. 24, 1909, in Bloomfield, N.J., Thoenig's earliest memories start in 1918, when she witnessed something so traumatic, ''it erased all memories of my childhood before that.''

''I remember coming down the stairs from my bedroom and saw these two coffins in the living room: one white, for my sister, and the other for the grown person,'' she said, recalling how the flu pandemic of 1918 killed her father and her 10-year-old sister within hours of one another. ''To see my father and sister - of all the things I can't remember - that's very vivid in my mind.''

Thoenig, her remaining sister, and her mother also were infected but survived. Her mother lived until 101 and her sister, who suffered permanent hearing loss from the illness, was 95 when she died. A few years ago, scientists tracked Thoenig down and took blood samples from her as one of the few remaining survivors of the pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed an estimated 30 million to 50 million people worldwide.

''If you had to pick a dramatic century to live, it has to be Astrid's,'' he said. ''The invention of the automobile and the airplane, television and computers, the moon landing and two world wars. Thoenig says ''thinking young'' has helped her take a century's worth of technological changes in stride. The daughter of Swedish immigrants, she credits her strong constitution, a wonderful family and getting up every day to get dressed and go to work with keeping her mind sharp.

Thoenig once sewed all her own clothes and still dresses elegantly, accenting with gold jewelry, colorful glasses and a full head of blond hair that makes her look decades younger. Her strong, agile hands come from a lifetime of typing, knitting and embroidering.

Married twice - her first husband died from injuries that earned him a Purple Heart in World War II - Thoenig started working shortly after high school, and has held positions at banks, lawyer's offices and for the borough of Caldwell.

Her current job is her favorite - working alongside her son, John Thornton, and grandson Peter at the family-owned insurance company.

''I'm 67, and one of our jokes is: 'How can I retire before my mother does?''' John Thornton said. He says his mother is a meticulous worker, reviewing contracts, preparing the payroll, making sure bills are paid, and is always pleasant company.